pub Archives - Curiously Carmen

Sing Sing

October 21, 2021

I have been curious about Sing Sing for awhile now, ever since they opened over 2 years ago. What sets Sing Sing apart from other pubs in Vancouver is that they serve Vietnamese food as well. I haven’t seen this unique combo but I was also hesitant to try pho served at a pub. Bellini had a good time here before, so Bellini, Martini and I came for dinner one evening.

We came in the early evening around 5pm, and the restaurant was already at full capacity! They don’t take reservations here either so I recommend coming earlier. The atmosphere was lively and bumpin’. The entire front of the restaurant opens up to a patio too.

Beef pho: I ordered the beef pho which came with beef balls, brisket, and rare steak. To be honest, my expectations of pho served at a white pub weren’t super high, so I was pleasantly surprised when I enjoyed it. It’s not the best pho, but it’s decent. The pieces of brisket were very thick and big, reminiscent of brisket served at BBQ restaurants.

There were a lot of chopped green onions on top, as you can see. Usually, pho is served with a side of beansprouts, basil, etc but it was already included. There were only a few pieces of beansprouts. My one complaint was that when I asked the server to have cooked beansprouts, she gave me a b1tchy and judgy look *eyeroll*.

Dumplings: You also don’t see dumplings at a pub often. Bellini ordered the vegetarian dumplings, which was topped with a mountain of green onions and fried onion (or garlic?) pieces. She enjoyed the dumplings and didn’t have any complaints about it.

Pizza: Martini ordered a pizza. It was a smaller pizza and probably suitable for one person only.

Our only complaint was that the service was quite cold. I mentioned above how our server rolled her eyes at me when I asked for cooked beansprouts. Another complaint about the service was that Bellini and Martini decided to see if they could another drink at 6:03pm, happy hour ended at 6pm. Prior to ordering, they asked the same server if they could still have the happy hour price. The server said she wasn’t sure and could try. They both asked her to come back and tell them if the HH price wasn’t possible. The server never came back, and was replaced by another server so we thought all was good.

When we got our bills, they were surprised to see that they were charged regular price for the drinks. The new server said that the old server informed her of the situation, and it took some pushing to have her change it to the happy hour price. If the old server had come back and said the HH price wasn’t possible, they wouldn’t have ordered it.

Overall, I am really glad that I finally tried Sing Sing and I would definitely be back. Despite that rude server, we still had a good time here. The atmosphere was great, and I loved the variety on the menu.

Brown’s Socialhouse – Burnaby

August 1, 2020

Disclaimer: There has been an identified COVID-19 case at the Brown’s location in Port Moody in late July. This review is for the Burnaby location. This visit also took place in June when cases were lower. I am responsible and would not go to a restaurant with a known, identified case.

Please stay safe, wear masks, wash your hands and avoid gatherings as cases are rising again.

Brown’s Socialhouse is a restaurant I have yet to try. I would describe it as a mix between Cactus Club/Joey’s/Earl’s and a sports pub. Maybe a sports pub but slightly fancier? Anyways, I digress.

Avocado and I came here for happy hour after finding out that Cactus Club had bumped their happy hour time to 2-5pm and I couldn’t make it that early. Cactus Club is the usual go-to for happy hour, so I guess them moving their time allowed me to try both Joey‘s and now Brown’s for happy hour!

We came to the Brentwood location. They are located in the same building as the Viet Noodle Guy and Sooda, which is on my list still. There is free parking underground and it was easy to navigate.

Hopefully this part won’t matter much a few months later or even next year, but social distance and sanitation practices were pretty good here. Directional arrows, hand sanitizers, tables closed off, staff had masks…. I felt safe.

Social soda: I tried the social soda, which was on their happy hour special. It reminded me of Cactus Club’s peach bellini watered down once you mix the slush around. Because of that, I wouldn’t recommend it. If the drink was smaller, that would probably be better so it tastes less watery.

Social lager: Avocado went with a better choice, their happy hour lager on tap.

Spicy fried chicken and pickles: I wasn’t too sure what to expect for this. Would it be chicken thigh? A mix of chicken wings? To my surprise, these were made with chicken breast and were bite sized nuggets.

They were served piping hot, fresh, and crispy. The chicken could have used more flavour, but I didn’t mind and would happily order it again.

Pork taquitos: The pork taquitos were another item off their happy hour menu. I’ve never had pork taquitos before, so I can’t really compare them to anything.

I liked that the taquitos came with a thicker tortilla that was doughier than your usual tortilla skin. The pork was seasoned well and full of flavour, although I found it to be very salty.

Parmesan garlic fries: The fries were nothing special, just your typical fries with a sprinkle of parmesan and cheese. Compared to the other dishes, I’d skip this one next time.

Crispy cauliflower: We ordered this after all our food came, and it ended up being one of my favourite items! The crispy cauliflower was piping hot and crunchy.

It was served with some parmesan and a delicious jalapeno ranch sauce. I’m not usually one to order cauliflower dishes so I’m glad Avocado suggested this!

All in all, we enjoyed our happy hour experience at Brown’s. The prices were quite reasonable, and the food was not bad. Although it does not beat out Cactus Club or Joey‘s for me, Brown’s is definitely going to be added to my list of happy hour places that I’d go back to.

Shift Kitchen and Tapas Bar

December 20, 2018

During our weekend getaway to Sunshine Coast 1.5 years ago (whoops, very late post), one of the restaurants we checked out was Shift Kitchen and Tapas Bar. Why am I writing this post so late? Because a) I thought I wrote about this already but didn’t, and b) I need some content for le blog.

Anyways, Shift Kitchen is a pretty small restaurant in a plaza. It reminded me of Rogue Kitchen in Vancouver, but a shrunken version of it.

Caesar: The boyfriend started off our dinner with a caesar, which he enjoyed.

Chicken strips & salad: I don’t care if people think chicken strips are for kids only, I will still continue to order them! Anyways, my chicken strips were pretty decent. They were a lot better than the ones I ordered at Lighthouse Pub the night before, also on Sunshine Coast.

Burger: The boyfriend ordered a pretty big and filling cheeseburger that he enjoyed. It came with a side of fries too.

Overall, our meal at Shift Kitchen was enjoyable and service was friendly. It had a city vibe which we weren’t looking for because we could get that in Vancouver, but that is not the restaurant’s fault at all.

Tap & Barrel Olympic Village (Re-visit)

August 18, 2018

I’ve written about Tap & Barrel in the past, and thought it was finally time for an updated post four years later! The Olympic Village location is one of my top places to go in the summertime because the view is great and it is located in my favourite Vancouver neighbourhood. After eating here, I love taking a walk down the seawall and around the area. If you’re a tourist or showing people around the city, I would recommend this place for their view and vibe.

It can get quite busy here in the summer, especially on the patio. Latte and I came on a weekday evening a bit before 6pm, and there was already a line up for the patio. If you don’t want to wait as long, you can get a spot inside. A month later, I came back here with the boyfriend and we sat inside because it was super hot that evening.

Pineapple and pulled bacon flatbread pizza, $16.95: This came with a good amount of pulled bacon and pineapple, as you can see from the picture! It was delicious, the sweetness of the pineapple balanced out the pulled bacon. I would describe the pulled bacon more like a pulled pork though. I liked how the pizza was not greasy or oily.

Spicy tuna burger, $17.95: This isn’t something I would normally order but it sounded pretty good, so we split this as well. The tuna burger came with seared ahi tuna, sesame lemongrass panko crust, avocado, cucumber, crispy onion, pickled shallots, spicy miso mayo. The burger was not that spicy. Everything in this burger went well together and I’m glad that we got this! Tap and Barrel also has good fries so we enjoyed this immensely too.

While the view and food was great, the service was lacking which is what I find the only bad thing about Tap and Barrel. It was hard to flag down our waiter and we didn’t get much service during our dinner. It was a struggle to get our drinks filled and to get the bill. The patio was completely full so I understand the lack of service, but I think they could benefit more by adding a couple more waiters. I would still come back for the atmosphere and food though. Compared to CRAFT which is across the street, Tap and Barrel has better prices and also a water view.

Yay!

Food: Original Joe’s (Cambie & Broadway)

April 11, 2018

I first discovered Original Joe’s a couple of years ago, when some friends invited me to Wings Wednesday at their downtown location. We ended up going a few more times over the past two years. Since then, I’ve gone to Original Joe’s on Broadway and Cambie here and there after work. It’s about time that I write a review on it!

Wings special, 50% 0ff – approx. $6/plate: I took Latte here for Wings Wednesday. We shared the dill pickle wings and barbeque wings. Dill pickle wings sound kind of weird, but they are actually really good. The flavour oddly works and it is one of the most popular flavours when my friends and I came.

The barbeque wings are pretty standard. You can always rely on the wings to be juicy and meaty. It’s a pretty good deal on Wednesdays!

Hummus and veggie platter, $10.75: To counteract the wings, we ordered some healthy hummus and veggie platter. I was quite surprised at how much veggies and naan bread it came with, and would probably order it again. The veggies were fresh and crunchy and the hummus was good as well!

Garlic cheese toast, $7.00: What dreams are made of! Garlic bread smothered with a variety of different cheeses. It was so extremely cheesy and totally worth the $7. They do not play around with their garlic cheese toast.

Yay!